BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO
CHAPTER 26: THE BIG BAD TORTOISE
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"Lemme tell ya somethin', you noisy leaders in Eastern Fashion!"
Terrified, the leaders of the nations of the combined army look up at the nine-foot-tall bipedal tiger who is gonna give them a decent scolding that starts with a growl. Rath raises his clawed fists at their faces.
"I don't care if you want to command me and take the glory but I do care if soldiers die for nothing."
With a flash of green light, I revert to my human form. "I've seen enough. I don't want to sacrifice any more lives."
"Now…" the oldest leader comments, trembling. "I think I can understand why you were called the Shield Devil."
Yes, exactly that is.
I notice Andreas grinning at me. Then he stands up – "As you hear from Sir Hero, we must come to an agreement between us. That one agreement that can protect the most lives, and is the most effective, we must find it out."
Her Majesty says nothing but widens her eyes in horror because the shield hero from her country is causing a ruckus at the sacred war council. Three leaders nod at each other.
"Fine, Sir Hero," the oldest leader with a grey beard says. If I am not wrong, he is the representative of Medius. "You are from now on in charge of commanding the combined army."
Hold up, is it that easy? In the first place, I'm not even a soldier, let alone commanding an army. Well, I took part in wars, yes, but thanks to the powers I possess, all wars ended in minimal casualties. In charge of the command, huh…
"Wait, isn't it too early? I mean, I am a total newcomer when it comes to the military and stuff…"
"We can't come to the agreement at this rate, Sir Hero," the representative of Lowhirot says.
So you all agreed to make me the general, damn…
"Alright," I quickly set up a strategy. "I need soldiers… as many as three times the population of the nearest town. Since the spirit tortoise is already entering the Shieldfreeden and close to us, we will lure it away from the towns. That way we can save more lives."
According to the map, after destroying Rekia, the country that originally housed the spirit tortoise, it moved from east to west. Shieldfreeden is located southeast of Melromarc.
"Also, the rest of the soldiers will evacuate the townspeople. My party and I will deal with the tortoise."
The conclusion is… as always, I will accomplish everything without a single soul sacrificed in the process. As absurd as it sounds, I am certain that it will work.
"But…" "Is that possible?" "Sir Hero?"
This is an extremely crazy idea for everyone with common sense. But I… transcend their common sense.
I look at the surprised faces of the leaders, even Andreas and Queen Mirellia, and declare calmly.
"I want to ask you to put faith in me this time," I raise a fist upward, hoping they will buy it. "I will protect as many lives as I can, just trust me."
I've said it, the rest is history.
"I don't know the limits of your powers," Her Majesty says calmly, covering her mouth with the fan. "But if you are truly powerful as I know you, I am sure you will accomplish your job this time."
"Sir Shield Hero," Andreas nods at me with a serious face. "Please… protect my people."
"Mm, yes, of course," I return a nod to him. "Now then…"
If I am not strong enough, my plan is suicidal and is a gamble where I will automatically lose. It is solely based on "superpowers" with only two definite outcomes – WIN or LOSS, no backup.
The old leader who represents Medius smiles at me with his eyes closed. The two other leaders concentrate their minds to think deeply…
"It's absurd," the leader of Haikazuya says. "But… I feel like I can entrust my people to you."
"Yes, as foolish as it sounds," the leader of Lowhirot comments. "You are so assuring, Sir Hero. There is some kind of energy about you… that we can't resist."
Suddenly the door opens and a knight rushes his way inside toward the Queen of Mirellia. I suppose he is to relay information from outside. He leans toward the Queen and whispers to her, then leaves the tent.
"Our Allies," she announces what she heard. "The survivors of the nation that was destroyed by the tortoise just arrived."
Hmm, survivors?
The door opens again, and a tall, bulky man in red and yellow armor enters the tent. From his getup, I guess he is the general of an army.
"Please let us join your combined army, leaders," he says as he bows to us. "I am the general of the survivor army of Reiki, the country which the spirit tortoise destroyed."
Damn, I am not even sending the soldiers to fight. It's a good thing the number will increase but… many of them will not have any work to do during the battle against the tortoise if I decide things wrongly.
"Please stand up, Sir," I ask him, walking up to the general. "I am the current commander of the combined army. First…" uh, damn, whatever will be, will be. "We welcome you from the alliance, Sir."
I did it without asking others, would it be okay?
"You… You are the Shield Hero, right? Please help us. That thing destroyed my country."
Although he is begging, he is like the man of the men… his body proves that he is one of the bravest I have ever found – and somehow reminds me of Erhard. He has a brown thin beard that goes down his chin. And he is a serious man.
"Rest assured, Sir… I will definitely help your country and its people."
This assuring smile, I guess it's all I can give him at present.
"Er," I turn toward the others. "For today, please allow the soldiers to take a good rest so that they can work well together."
-(BREAK)-
We make a campfire in front of my tent. Dunno how they got the idea. I told them to relax but Rex is restless. But he isn't afraid of the "giant" creature or something – he just can't still grasp the information that I proposed a foolish-sounding strategy at the "sacred" war council and the leaders of the conference still accepted it. Yes, I think he is sensing the "protagonist syndrome" in me.
I recently found out that Eclair Seaetto is also here as the general of Melromarc Knights. And now… she is at our campfire. Filo is next to her, eating a roasted meat roll. And it is Aria who is roasting the meat. On the other side, next to Eclair sits Rishia who leans her head on Eclair's shoulder weakly. And I… hesitantly show them my hospitality… What am I doing?
Aria hands me a meat roll so I angrily stuff the meat into my mouth. Hot, hot, hot… it's hot, aaahh. But… her cooking skills truly improved. Rex is also enjoying his food.
"Delicious! Aria's cooking is amazing!" Filo comments as she happily feasts on two rolls at the same time.
"You guys should open a restaurant," Rex mumbles, biting on his food. "Ben sells drinks, Aria sells fries. Perfect!"
We should really consider that – I mean, when the waves are gone, we can open a restaurant… like traveling chefs. Filo will draw the cart, and we put our stuff on it. Aria roasts the meat on stoves… and I sell drinks. We will travel around the world selling food and drinks to people. Hey, it's not a bad idea. But now it stands as a dream, however, no one can say it won't become reality.
Maybe… I can marry Aria after everything… then adopt Filo as our daughter—
AAAHH, Man's dream can be scary sometimes… Let's just cast all that stuff aside.
"Ben, you are making a creepy face," Rex warns. "What are you imagining?"
"Hahaha, nothing really," when my eyes accidentally meet Aria's, she blushes… out of her character.
"So…" he asks. "What is the plan? Are we blinding charging in?"
"Highly likely… hmm, we know little about the tortoise after all," I answer. Now I think about it, even the leaders themselves weren't that knowledgeable. According to reports, it's moving on four… So destroying its legs will stop its movement. We will have to make plans for different situations after amputating its limbs. Its size is a problem… but the town we are in is surrounded by plains. The terrain isn't much of trouble… Hmm, it seems way too easy. I better be cautious.
"Ha, you just thought up of a plan, right?" (Rex)
"Ben always thinks up suicidal plans," Eclair comments.
"Kinda… I never thought of a backup plan but just in case…"
And so we continue to discuss the strategies.
Again, tonight, Aria invaded my tent. Does she have a story or a song to tell me?
"What's it, Aria?"
"I just wanted to visit you," she stares off at the ceilings as she lies next to me. "I am nervous, so nervous I can't sleep."
It's difficult. I can't sing lullabies.
"Let's go out for a walk," I suggest. "I know some beautiful places in Shieldfreeden."
"Okay," she whispers. "Let's go."
And so we went out for a walk…
The scenery was… a lake, a forest, and the moon. The black sky with stars and the moon is reflected in the lake… combined with the green taste of the forest and the refreshing cold air that flies past the water. You can take some examples from nature and you will come to understand how rotten humans are… So sometimes I like this world. The world isn't much polluted by rotten humans. The forest wasn't burnt down, the lake wasn't evaporated by the temperature rise… Let's see, global warming, is it?
Uh, forget it. I am unnecessarily confusing you. I can just recreate the universe if stupid humans destroy it.
"It's pretty… How did you find this?"
"While flying as Jetray… Well, I camped out here once."
"Whoa…"
I pat her head as her blonde hair is blown scattered in the air.
"When you feel anxious, refreshing yourself is also an option, not just relaxing… Um, you are a gunner… Though it was me who taught you how to use a gun, now I don't know why you can be so composed and precise on the battlefield…"
She looks up at me with a confused face.
"... But I know you are so cool!" I add.
Rook is one heck of a combatant… and Aria Brambila is also a great gunner.
"Thanks," she quietly replies and clings to my shoulder.
Let's leave her be. I don't know how to deal with a girl after all.
"Sh…" she suddenly releases me and her eyes examine the surroundings. "I think someone is watching us," she mutters quietly.
-(TRANSITION)-
The Tortoise is slowly approaching the town. It's slow… regarding its size but its steps can be as big as a block. I've not seen the spirit tortoise by myself yet. They said it has mountains, towns, and shrines on its back. I can predict its size can easily pass the multi-town level. But it shouldn't be a problem… If I am not being overconfident.
The Army of Shieldfreeden is led by Ryuuji and composed of dragon riders. They joined the army of Haikazuya… This combined dragon rider army will lure the tortoise away from the towns. The knights of Melromarc are divided into two groups, one goes to nearby towns to evacuate people away. The second join the dragon rider army. The soldiers of Reiki are scattered among the dragon riders.
The armies of Lowhirot and Medius insist they aid in pinning the tortoise down.
And I am on a plain away from tents with the other leaders of the combined army. My party is also preparing their weapons.
"You can just watch the battle fine from here," I tell them. "I want to show off my powers."
"You don't usually say it, Sir Ben," Her Majesty says.
"Hahaha, well, I understand you, Sir Hero," Andreas laughs.
The leader of Medius steps forward. "I am interested in how you will manage to accomplish many things out on the battlefield."
"But I am grateful you didn't try to monopolize the entire battle," Her Majesty comments.
"Monopolize?" The leader of Haikazuya gasps in awe. "Wait, he always does things alone?"
"He has the history of defeating the wave bosses single-handedly," Andreas answers.
Hmm, how come they think I defeat the wave bosses alone?
"It's false information, Sir," I deny it with a smile. "Because my party is also… strong."
"I believe I told you to wear properly suited for a commander position, Sir Ben," Her Majesty scolds me.
My usual clothes… I washed and dried them overnight. A green jacket and blue pants.
"Please don't mind my uniform," I reply. "This is all I had when I was summoned to this world."
Rex, in his usual orange jacket, wearing goggles come to us. "The bats came into view, Mr. Commander."
"Hmm, then the spirit tortoise must be nearby, too. Okay, tell Eclair to ready, we will deploy their forces in three minutes."
"Yes, Sir!" I don't know if Rex is being sarcastic or respectful. He leaps into the air, summoning his boogie pack, and shoots toward where the dragon army is.
"Sir Shield Hero's party is…" The leader of Lowhirot comments. "Truly amazing."
"Well, we won't fail to surprise you…"
I mentally command the Omnitrix to transform myself into Echo Echo. Gulp, I almost shout the name in front of the leaders.
With a flash of green light, the Omnitrix rewrote my genetic codes and transformed me into a white child-size alien with headphones and a backpack. The Omnitrix symbol lies on my torso.
"W-wow…"
"Alright," my amplified voice escapes my mouth. I make nine clones of myself… and we all restore our human forms.
"Wow… this is more than amazing," the Medius Leader comments.
"I heard that Sir Hero used this move during a wave in Shieldfreeden but…" Andreas gasps.
"Here you got… 10 shield heroes," I jokingly said. "Anyway…"
With a flash of green light, the clones vanished.
"I'm going…"
I assume the form of Jetray and shoot through the air toward my party.
"Ten shield heroes… huh…"
"Rex, is everything ready– ?"
Strangely, someone in a penguin costume is found with my party. "Who is it?"
"I-I am Rishia Ivyred!" She answers. Hmm, why does Rishia wear such a weird costume? Uh, it doesn't matter. Grilaroc said Rishia had a good potential to become a master in controlling "Ki." She taught her many things… Knowing Grilaroc, her student should be fine.
"Everything is ready, Sir," Rex said in a military posture… He is weirding me out. "O-oh, okay," I reply and look at Aria and Filo. "Take care, don't get hurt on the battlefield."
"OK, Master!" Filo returns me an excited response. Aria nods with a nonchalant expression. I still don't know much about her… but she doesn't express her feelings when she gets serious. She puts on an unreadable face and beats up her enemies at times.
"Let's do our best, Aria. Alright, now it's the time!"
When I turn around, I can see the dragon army led by Ryuuji and Eclair.
The struggle between "win" and "loss" just started.
Meanwhile back with the leaders,
"Will he be okay?" The leader of Haikazuya mumbles… witnessing the swarms of bat monsters flying out of the forest.
"Are you doubting him?" The leader of Lowhirot asks.
"No. I just want to be surprised by his abilities in the battle… but I can't go closer out there."
"It's dangerous," the old leader interrupts them. "Let's hope for the best."
The dragon riders charged toward the spirit tortoise, parting ways with my party. On the other hand, Rex and Aria + Filo duo handle the in-air advances of the bat monsters. Rishia and I decided to take care of yetis.
"You are not half-bad…" I praise Rishia though she is still struggling to deal with a single yeti.
"No, I am not really…" She is showing some Hengen Musou moves. "Good at this…"
Her swift moves make me wonder how she is performing them in a seemingly heavy costume.
I jab the nearby yetis with my four red fists, pushing them back. Then I produce a powerful devastating shockwave via thunderclap of my four hands, causing the yetis to fall to the ground.
"RATH! Lemme tell ya somethin' you– Er, whatever… Polaris!" Rath leaps into the air to perform a wrestling move. "PILEDRIVER!"
Now… then I hit the Omnitrix symbol to transform again – "HEATBLAST!" and burn all the corpses of the yetis.
"S-sir…" Rishia calls for me so I turn toward her. "I defeated it!" Well, I find a single yeti lying beside her.
"Keep up the good work," I reply and fly upward to burn the corpses to the bats.
The dragon riders reached the tortoise and now succeeded in luring it away from the towns.
"Oh, shit," Rex gasps in astonishment witnessing the colossal tortoise. "It's… massive!"
"Massive" can be an understatement. It's easily bigger than multiple towns and has several mountains on its back. Witnessing something this big out in the plain fields reminds me of Godzilla and Kong… yet they are nowhere near as big as this guy.
"But how do we defeat it?" Rex says.
"Hmm, I will nuke it." Yes, a nuclear bomb can certainly destroy a large town. Probably.
"Wait, we don't have an alternative way to defeat it?"
"No, Rex, in fact, we don't even have a way to defeat it, let alone alternatives."
With each step, the tortoise causes the ground to tremble, but the dragon riders are bravely baiting the monster. We gotta do something to not make a waste out of their efforts.
"First, I will stop its advance. Then we will attack its limbs until it can't move anymore," I tell Rex about my plans.
"Fair enough, alright, let's get going!"
Rex accelerates his boogie pack and shoots off. Maybe… I should investigate the tortoise to find its weakness after stopping its advances.
"Eclair! Ryuuji!" I shout to the commander. "We will take it from here!"
"Yes, Sir Ben!" "OK, Sir Hero, I will leave it to you!"
I float behind the tortoise, with my arms folded. Its size is big, but it is only as heavy as multiple towns. To stop it entirely, we have to stop all the internal organs of this monster – and the starter is the heart. To put a stop to its movement, I have to hold it back. Hold it back…
I smack the Omnitrix symbol and the flash of green light overwhelms the entire area, even causing the soldiers to be taken aback.
"What's this light?"
"Sir Shield Hero?"
"It's green after all."
After the light died down, standing behind the colossal tortoise is a 300-foot-tall white titan with a red exoskeleton. He has green eyes and a big black fin.
"WAY BIG!"
But he isn't the only one. Next to him are a big fat bird and a dragon.
The bird is at least 60 ft tall. And the dragon is 60 ft long. (A/N: retconned size) The torso of the bird is covered by thick white fluffy feathers with small green stripes forming a necklace around his neck. He has a fluffy shield.
"MAGNUS AVIS!"
And the dragon is dark green standing on four with large wings to fly at high speeds. He has a dark green small shield covered by dragon hide on his forelimb.
"SIR DRAGKNIGHT!"
The dragon alien can finally speak after adding the universal translate as an extension of the Omnitrix.
The bird and the dragon are like a sparrow and a lizard when compared to the colossal tortoise.
"Avis, Dragnight," I give them some instructions. "Stop it from the back. I will push it from the front."
""Roger!""
I jump over the tortoise and land in front of it, allowing the dragon riders to escape.
"Wh-what is this!?"
"I didn't hear anything about this!"
"A giant?"
"And a filolial queen…"
Way Big – The giant creature that could lift the moon. I will definitely stop the tortoise.
I place my hands on its shell that is covered with mountains and begin to push it back with my strength. Indeed it is even bigger than me… but I am confident I can do it. The tortoise is lifted off the ground with the help of the dragon and Avis. It has… been stopped.
"Now!" I alert the dragon who then vanishes and reforms the Diamondhead on the ground. He then charges at the tortoise and transforms its arms into blades. Then he slashes at the limbs of the monster, running to and fro. The tortoise lets out beastly growls – Avis and I continue to corner the creature.
The limbs of the creature have been enveloped in silicon crystals summoned by Diamondhead in such a short time. Now that the tortoise can't move, can we just eliminate it? I am pretty sure I can just destroy the whole body with cosmic beams. Hmm, my eyes suddenly capture a town-like place on the back of the tortoise. I heard something like that. I better look for survivors there.
"Ben!" Rex's voice comes out of the Omnitrix like a walkie-talkie voice.
"What's it?" Diamondhead answers on my behalf.
"Strange monsters crawled out of the ground! Also–"
Suddenly glowing weird purple spikes come out of the ground in front of the tortoise. "What's that!?" I wonder out loud, taken aback.
"Whatever it is," the Magnus Avis said. "It cannot be good."
"Ben Tennyson!" Partner appears on my screen. "You all deploy Air Strike Shield + Way Big Shield over the soldiers!"
"Huh!?"
"I will explain later! Just do it!"
Uh, then… Air Strike Shield + Way Big Shield! Enlarge!
The three shields appear over the plain fields where the soldiers are. They enlarge to the maximum size. The soldiers look up at the shield with questioning eyes. Diamondhead on the ground asks the soldiers to get under the shield's protection.
"Here it comes," Partner mutters.
The ground trembles as the purple spikes that are embedded in it begin flying out into the air only to redirect at the soldiers. But the oversized Way Big Shields successfully defend the soldiers against the continuous attacks.
Some spikes are shot toward me so I unleash a cosmic beam to destroy the spikes.
"Aw, damn it!" Avis transforms into Big Chill and turns intangible letting the spike pass through him. Diamondhead creates a crystal wall to protect the nearby dragon riders.
"Now what?!"
Diamondhead's voice is transmitted through the Omnitrix.
"It's me, Diamondhead. I encounter strange monsters here. It's like a Chimera... but with different composition."
"We are coming..." Big Chill responds and looks up at me. I give him a nod in affirmation and transform into Jetray to fly toward where the dragon riders are.
Diamondhead removes the first wall and fires crystalline projectiles at the amalgam familiar to grasp its attention. If successful, he can redirect its attention from the soldiers to him, giving him an advantage in defending them. The amalgam charges at the petrosapien who blocks the tackle with his crystal shield and throws the monster away.
Big Chill and I float around the Diamondhead Vs Amalgam Familiar battlefield and then we combine to reform a single Ben Tennyson. I better reserve the energy of the Omnitrix.
The amalgamated familiar monster has a lion head, a bipedal dragon-horse body with a turtle shell on the back, and two mantis arms emerging out of the shell as extensions.
"Ben!" Aria shows up, riding Filo then jumps off Filo's body and lands before me. Filo also restores her human form and thrusts out her hands.
"Zweit Wind Shot!" She unleashes a condensed wind ball that pushes the monster back. Aria spins her pistons and aims at the monster, firing multiple shots.
"We've got another batch of yetis coming!" Aria warns me.
"Ha, okay, I'm going." I hastily transform into Astrodactyl and fly off to find the yetis.
YETI SLAYER
What a weird name… Anyway, I have created two green-colored energy whips to strike down the monsters. We don't need to follow abstract rules in killing yeti monsters – yeah, they are not goblins.
As my whips are swung at the monsters, they are wrapped around by the energy strings. Then I spin in the air to strike the other yetis nearby with the two monsters I captured. As they are thrown at the others of their kind, I spit concentrated energy balls at them, which explode and exterminate the monsters. At the times, Rex comes into view.
"How are we facing those monsters?" He asks, pointing at the swarms of bats.
Perhaps it is because the closer to the tortoise, the more familiars are born.
"Let's just kill it," I reply coldly. As I look at Rex, I remember something from the past. "Hey, Rex, let's try an old trick."
"Huh?!"
I transform into Upgrade and jump at the generator, fusing with his body which is also full of nanites. His body is all engulfed in a black suit with green circuits. My liquid/ solid cycloptic head pops out of his shoulder, surprising him.
"Ah!" "Now… build something."
"Ah… Big Fat Sword!" He projected his usual sword but it is now upgraded by my own nanites. Using the galvanic technology, his Big Fat Sword is leveled up to –
"Let's call this the Alien Excalibur!" I propose an idea.
"Cool!" He comments. "Now come… er, Hyper Jet!"
Wait, has he been infected with the "saying-the-name-out-loud" disease?
The usual boogie pack is now enhanced with plasma propulsions – the "Hyper Jet" is colored black with glowing green circuits.
"Let us kill some bats!" The bat slayer said.
We move toward bat monsters and Rex swings the Alien Excalibur – all the monsters in the range are sliced into two halves, astonishing Rex.
"Holy… this thing is dangerous."
"Sure it is," I replied. "It's upgraded after all." That thing sliced Alpha too.
"Hmm, we can kill monsters by severing their heads from the bodies, right?"
"Yeah, why?" I ask, watching him slicing the bat heads. And then I realize what he means and look back at the colossal tortoise.
"I am confident this sword can slice off its head easily."
"Sure, it can…" I murmur, analyzing the biological structure of its skin and neck where we will cut it off.
"Let's do it then! The big one is our priority after all."
"Okay, Rex!"
When we approach the spirit tortoise, it lets out a loud growl.
Without a second thought, the big sword is swung at its neck… the wound is deep, but it's not enough. I don't know its healing speed but I recommend Rex continue slicing it.
I create a booster as an extension that propels the gushing blood away.
After swinging the sword again and again for a while, the head is successfully cut off from its body, supposedly exterminating the colossal creature. Hmm, according to the vital signs, it should be dead already.
"Er… Ben, I think we should help Aria and Filo."
"Mm," my cycloptic eye scans and zooms in to see Aria and Filo fighting the Amalgamated Familiar. They are now overwhelmed by its strength… It's not because they are not powerful enough. Constant fighting can wear people out. "Hm, I think so."
"Okay!" With the enhanced propulsions, the Hyper Jet transported us toward the monster faster than we expected. BUT not in time. Even during the multiple plasma shots of Aria's pistol, the monster advances, somehow dodging Filo's wind magic. His intimidating mantis blades are prepared to assault the girls. "Oh shit… at this rate–"
But before we arrive there… a green force field materializes around the girls and defends them against the amalgam's attacks. The nearby soldiers advance toward the monster to fight it off only to back away because of its overwhelming roar.
"What!? Who is she…"
And there stands a lady in black robes, behind the blue knight and the filolial, with her hands extended forward. This proves she is the one who cast the energy shield. The duo seems to have noticed her, too.
We wait no more and take the chance to barge in. Rex's Alien Excalibur sliced the amalgam's body, again and again, reducing the monster into pieces… even shocking the nearby soldiers.
"Now I feel good," I comment.
Rex sweatdropped. "Feeling good after killing someone isn't really good," he mutters.
I leave his body and detransform. "Now then…" I see the green force field has disappeared. "Who are you again?"
She pulls the hood back. She is a familiar mysterious girl I've met twice after the monster fights. Her beauty is unchallenged. And I can feel a mysterious air around her.
"I am Ost Horai. I am the familiar who serves the spirit tortoise."
Aria aims her pistol at the lady.
A familiar… of the spirit tortoise?
"Rest assured. I am here to help your side," she said with an unreadable face.
"O-oh…" "A human form familiar…"
"How can we trust you?" Aria says, unfazed, still aiming her guns at the girl.
She points toward me. "That Shield Hero. He is much stronger than me."
Aria doesn't even blink. Damn, this situation is… really intense. But it is where Rex comes in.
"Ahem," he grasps the attention of the lady with a fake cough. "First, can you tell us how to kill this creature?"
Ost Horai stares at Rex silently and mysteriously. The silence continues for a minute without an answer from her. And it becomes awkward.
"Um, perhaps do you not know it?" I ask, breaking the awkwardness.
"Of course, I do," she immediately answers with a straight face. "You can… hmm, kill him… by severing his head from the body."
Hmm, logically her answer is right. Kinda.
"So it's a victory for us, right?" I said to Rex, raising my hand for a high-fi.
But before we can celebrate our victory…
"Yay!"
All the soldiers around us hear we successfully killed it so they begin to yell their victorious cries.
"Er, whatever, we nailed it!"
Now I can finally sleep without worries.
"I'm afraid that may not be the case, Shield Hero," Horai said.
"Excuse me?"
Now I think of it, I have killed the tortoise and its advances are all stopped. Its familiars… are all wiped out but one – she is still standing alive and well. That means…
But the analysis says it is dead.
"Partner, please examine the tortoise."
"Hmm," Partner's holographic figure appears, rubbing his tentacle beard. "I read it's dead. Maybe… it can revive itself."
"What!?"
Revival? Sounds like a high-tier healing spell. I look back at my guys nervously.
"We should ask that woman for details, Ben Tennyson."
"You mean Ost Horai?"
I take a glance at the beautiful young woman in black. "Yes, of course," Partner answers. "Who else are we talking to? But she is a curious existence. I suggest you discuss her with the leaders."
I'd prefer he didn't refer subjects to people.
"Alright, it's decided," I face my party and Ost Horai. "Madam, please come with us. I want to introduce you to Her Majesty."
She responded to my invitation with a nod.
-(BREAK)-
"And so, Her Majesty," I introduce the girl to Queen Mirellia and Prime Master Andreas. "Here is Ost Horai who claims to be a familiar of the spirit tortoise."
"It's been many years since we've met," Ost Horai says. "Queen of Melromarc."
Hmm, does she know Her Majesty?
"You are…" The Queen widens her eyes, supposedly surprised. I'm certain that these two must have met in the past.
For Andreas, he doesn't seem to know the woman.
"Her Majesty, if I may, do you by chance know her?" I ask.
"Y-yes, she is the concubine of the now-deceased king of the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom."
Hold up, now the plot is twisted for me. The familiar of the spirit tortoise was the concubine of a king in the human realm?.
After retreating to the tents, I declared a "break time" for all soldiers and brought Horai to Her Majesty, and then personally invited Andreas to join the discussion. I informed the other leaders vaguely but the "familiar of the spirit tortoise" thing can cause an uproar if I am not careful enough.
In the tent are Andreas, Ryuuji, Queen Mirellia, Eclair, Rex, and me.
Andreas doesn't seem to be interested in Ost Horai… Rather he cares more about his country.
"Sir Hero," he says. I know he isn't an aggressive guy. "Does she know any way to slay the tortoise completely?"
"She told me to cut off its head," I answer, feeling uneasy. "It's dead. But it will revive soon. She has no idea how to slay it."
"But," Horai interrupts. "I can give you information on the spirit tortoise. I'm not sure my knowledge will make up for it, though."
"Then please give us that information," the Queen requests. "Also, I'd be grateful if you explain yourself, Ost Horai."
"Yes, I will, Queen."
And so she explained about the tortoise's existence.
Her existence is also created by the spirit tortoise itself. The job of the familiars is to gather souls… by killing, probably. And the tortoise is to block the waves of calamity from appearing… and to do so, souls are needed as a resource in the process. It sounds like Charmcaster's ritual to revive her father. So human-type familiars (including Ost Horai herself) had to inflict the government systems of the countries from inside and cause the wars to happen so that they could gather souls from the dead in the wars.
However… when they failed to gather souls from wars, the monster familiars were used to gather souls… And as a last resort, the seal on the spirit tortoise would be broken and it would wander around the world gathering souls even more effectively.
Hmm, souls are gathered to stop the waves… Perhaps this is the "sacrifice" thing Fitoria mentioned. I don't like it at all, personally. I'd rather use my cosmic powers to rewrite the whole reality, but I'm afraid it will be reversed by the other celestialsapiens. Last resort, huh. What a tight choice…
That aside, Ost Horai said that the seal was broken by someone this time. And it's a high chance someone is manipulating the tortoise to bring forth destruction. Whoever that someone is, I promised myself to gift him ten punches.
While the waves will be stopped, the world will be pretty much destroyed. It's not even a cosmic creature.
"Shield Hero, will you help the world survive by destroying my creator, the Spirit Tortoise?"
Ost Horai bows to me as she begs.
"Uh, first, you said you were the concubine of the deceased king, right?"
"Yes, Shield Hero."
I've got many things on my mind… but I better do step by step.
"I want to make a conference. To formally introduce her to other leaders… and also the general of the Spirit Tortoise Kingdom is here after all."
"I am aware."
"It's important to not anger people, Madam," Rex says with a carefree tone. "The more formal the better."
What a weird logic.
When Horai met the survivors of her people, they were so glad. After some explanation about her identity and a summary of the purpose of the tortoise, the leaders were shocked. But with the help of Prime Minister Andreas and Queen Mirellia, it was quite okay and calmed down.
"Ha, finally…" I let out a sigh of relief after leaving the conference. But this isn't the end. Right now, the spirit tortoise is visually dead. BUT I can't say for sure since it will revive itself soon.
"Rex… sorry but can I ask you for something?"
"Hmm, sure, anything I can help with." Rex is also worn out but he is still acting like a carefree high school senior.
"We will investigate the tortoise while it is asleep. The others are taking a rest, right?"
The "others" mean Aria, Filo, and Rishia.
"Yeah?" "Let them rest. I am sorry but I'm gonna have to rely on you again."
"Don't be like that, dude," Rex says holding up a fist.
"Thanks," I reply weakly… Damn, I seriously need to drink a smoothie.
"Shield Hero," I hear Horai's voice calling for me. "Take me with you."
And so we three climbed up the mountains on the tortoise's back. Not literally though. I transformed into Upgrade again and fused myself with the coach, enhancing it into a helicopter. Then I gave Harai a seat on it. Rex insisted he would fly by himself. It isn't really a fun trip. It is more like walking over a time bomb but you don't know how much time is left.
We kept investigating the mountains and we found a mountainside path. Following it, we found a small town. It was destroyed… totally destroyed. Everywhere was rubble and ruins. And the corpses of the people who once lived in it were scattered all over the streets. Damn, it made me even more angry with whoever activated the tortoise. I am gonna give them a good beating if I ever find them.
"Rex." "I know."
When I scan the town if anyone survived, I find no one. Rex descends to the ground.
"I think we should let the survivors know this," he refers to the general and the survivor army.
"Yeah."
So I decided to transport the soldiers and the general to this town. But then…
"Sir Ben, please allow us to come along with you!" Rishia insists.
"But–" "Yeah, he's right," Rex picks up. "You guys still need to rest."
"We are your party members, Ben," Aria says.
And so after a long discussion, we had to take the rest of my party members onto the back of the colossal creature.
"Is this…" Seems that Rex found something.
"A shrine?"
A large building that has an Eastern feel to it… with colossal double doors.
END OF CHAPTER (26).